Game of Thronesstar Rose Leslie will lead HBO’s upcoming adaptation of the sci-fi romance novelThe Time Traveler’s WifealongsideDivergentactor Theo James. The hugely successful debut novel by author Audrey Niffenegger has been adapted for the screen before back in 2009 with Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana taking on the lead roles which Leslie and James will now step into.
Published in 2003,The Time Traveler’s Wifewas very well-received by critics, eventually becoming a bestseller and winning the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize and a British Book Award. The synopsis for the novel reads; “Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himselfmisplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.
Clare and Henry’s story unfolds from both points of view, depicting theeffects of time travel on their marriageand their passionate love for each other. They attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals: steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.”
Rose Leslieand Theo James are the first cast members to be announced and will take on the lead roles of Clare and Henry respectively. Leslie is best known for starring in HBO’s huge hit fantasy seriesGame of Thronesas the wildling Ygritte. She is also known for roles in the likes ofDownton AbbeyandThe Good Fighton the small screen, as well as starring alongside Vin Diesel inThe Last Witch Hunteron the big screen.
As forTheo James, he is most recognizable for his role as Four in theDivergentfranchise, in which he featured throughout the installmentsDivergent,InsurgentandAllegiant. James also had starring roles in Netflix’sHow It Ends, the highly popular fantasy sequel seriesThe Dark Crystal: Age of Resistanceand the animated seriesCastlevania.
This new take on the time-jumping love story of Henry and Clare comes courtesy of HBO, with formerDoctor Whoshowrunner and writer Steven Moffat on board as an executive producer alongside Sue Vertue and Brian Minchin. Moffat, who also co-created the acclaimed BBC seriesSherlockstarring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, clearly has an affinity for time travel stories, and should be more than adept at transferringThe Time Traveler’s Wifefrom page to screen.
Adapting the novel is something that Moffat has wanted to do for some time, with the writer even taking inspiration from the story during hisDoctor Whorun. “I read Audrey Niffenegger’s ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ many years ago, and I fell in love with it. In fact, I wrote a ‘Doctor Who’ episode called ‘The Girl In The Fireplace’ as a direct response to it,” Moffat said in a statement when HBO first announcedThe Time Traveler’s Wife.
No release date has yet been set for HBO’sThe Time Traveler’s Wife. This comes to us fromVariety.
